LOCATION KEY:Retail sites in areas that attract Chinese and Japanese tourists are becoming big-ticket items, leaving developers reluctant to set prices or release more

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 22, 2015
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Storefront prices have soared by double-digit percentages for the past year despite sluggish housing transactions, thanks to record influxes of foreign tourists who have helped boost demand for retail space, analysts said yesterday.

Storefronts in locations popular with Chinese and Japanese tourists have gained at least 10 percent to 20 percent so far this year, which has led builders to hold on to their inventory despite the risk of having to pay higher income taxes on property gains beginning next year, the Chinese-language Housing Monthly said.     [FULL  STORY]